Le Sunflower

Okay, so my husband and I are closeted Francophiles. When we were in France, we ate some of the most delicious food I've ever had. Everything was fresh and just plain tasty! Even when we went to someplace for a snack or something cheap, it was ALWAYS good.

So a good place to get our fix for French is Tournesol. FANTASTIC place. We went last night and ordered their special cheese plate for an appetizer, I had the vegetarian plate for dinner (husband had the special veal plate) and then we followed that with their special tarte tatin - MMMMMMMM - for dessert. We also had some delicious Cote du Rhone red in a carafe with dinner. A also had a cafe creme (real deal) with dessert. Service is great with four waiters circling and making sure you are comfortable and happy. They are all totally French and appreciate it when you make feeble attempts at their beautiful language. LOVE!

Apparently there is an affiliate wine bar in the city called Manon on Houston and Sullivan. Gotta check it . . .

THE REDISCOVERY OF HAIR SPRAY.

I haven't purchased a bottle of hair spray in many many moons. Who needs it, anyway? I mean, with pomades and waxes and creams to coiffe your hair . . . hairstyles just don't warrant a mist of hair spray anymore.

Well, when I got married 4 months ago, I bought a bottle of hair spray to touch up my hair before heading to the ceremony. I got Aveda Pure Abundance Volumizing Hair Spray at the recommendation of my hairdresser:















On my wedding day, it totally did the trick - held my hair in it's glam place all day and night. Then, I placed it on my bathroom shelf and occaisonally used it to plaster stubborn hairs in place when I wore my hair in a ponytail or something. But for the most part, it just sat there.

This past saturday I got my hair trimmed. Got a few more layers than usual and I LOVE it. And, as with every haircut, I had to find the correct combo of styling products to make myself look presentable. This week has been very interesting and I wasn't satisfied with any of the styling cocktails. Until today.

When I got my haircut, my stylist sprayed me with an aerosol can, and my hair looked pretty snazz afterward. This morning, I remembered that and thought I would give my pump spray a go. PERFECT! My hair had great body and wasn't stiff at all and it stayed in place all friggin' day! WOO HOO!

Hooray for hair spray!

Donde estan los amigos?

On 31st St. and 23rd Ave in Astoria!

Went with a group of old college friends and my old man to this Astoria staple tonight. It being September 11th, it was really nice to gather with friends and be celebrating the 6th year of M & W's arrival in NYC rather than dwelling on the sadness of the day. Teamed with delicious margaritas (STRONG margaritas) and awesome food, this made for a great night. Los Amigos is doubly great because the staff barely speaks English. And they don't really try to either. They understand, though. And pointing helps. Or drinking a little and letting loose with your remedial Spanish is always fun!

I enjoyed the Enchiladas Suizas de Vegetales. Veggie enchiladas drenched in salsa verde and covered in queso blanco and sour cream with salad and rice and beans on the side. Also enjoyed a lime margarita on the rocks. MMMMM!

I ate too much, of course. But a nice walk home made it all better.

BARK AT THE MOON.

Old Devil Moon, that is! I hit this old East Village fave with my friend A today. GOOD STUFF. I was feeling like a biscuit when I woke up this morning and ended up having the Old McMoon with two eggs overeasy and veggie sausage on a BISCUIT! Cheese grits on the side baby. Oh yeah. Total decadence! A happy surprise was that the service was actually really good today - WOW. Usually when we go there, it takes forever! Both the hostess and the waitress were looking after us. A very happy surprise indeed!

At the CABANA

The husband and I took some out of town friends at Cabana Nuevo Latino last night. One of our old faves. I ordered what I always do - the Cabana Salad. MMM MMM GOOD. What a perfect combination for a salad. Love the black bean vinaigrette. Though it seems to grow more and more gargantuan every time I order it! Not that I'm complaining. But there is usually a fair amount of lettuce left on my plate by the time I'm through. We ordered some of their arepas con queso and platanos maduros for an appy (though they are on the menu as sides). Those arepas are just delicious - buried in queso blanco! The platanos could have used some crema or some sort of dipping sauce, but they were still tasty.

There was some sampling of the mojitos and they went over very well. I went with a glass of their Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon. Not bad. Even mis-paired with a salad like I did. Service is always good - a totally reliable and casually fabulous joint for a dinner. Tuesday was a great night to go because it wasn't as packed as it normally is.